The methodology linear programmed thermal degradation mass spectrometry (LPTD-MS) will be used to study the structural and chemical difference involved in the speciation of biological systems, with reference to well characterized bacteria. Biopolymers which have been isolated from well characterized strains of Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhimurium will be used to establish the limitations of the LPTD-MS methodology. Additionally, the profiles obtained from B. subtilis and S. Typhimurium will be used to analyze the structures of similar biopolymers contained in Haemophilus Influenzae. Profiles of the well-characterized strains of B. subtilis and S. typhimurium will be compared between the different groups of isolates as will be established by the auxotyping and serotyping.